Film: "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2"

SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2

Cast Bio and Notes:

Photo left: (L-R) ALEXIS BLEDEL stars as Lena, AMBER TAMBLYN stars as Tibby, BLAKE LIVELY stars as Bridget and AMERICA FERRERA stars as Carmen in Alcon Entertainment's drama "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2," distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Photo: Phil Caruso.

AMBER TAMBLYN (Tibby) just signed to star as the female lead in ABC's new dramedy series "The Unusuals," written by Noah Hawley ("Bones") that will feature her as a smart detective who is also the black sheep of a wealthy family. She recently wrapped production on a remake of the 1956 noir classic "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt," scripted and directed by Peter Hyams, in which she stars opposite Michael Douglas.

She recently starred in the title role, opposite Tilda Swinton, in "Stephanie Daley," for which she received tremendous critical acclaim and a 2007 Independent Spirit Best Supporting Female Actress nomination. The film, written and directed by Hilary Brougher, premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews and went on to the 2007 Milan International Film Festival and the 2006 Locarno International Film Festival, where Tamblyn received a Golden Bronze Leopard Best Actress Award. Tamblyn also received raves for her role in the telepic "The Russell Girl."

Tamblyn will next star in the comedy "Spring Breakdown," with Parker Posey, Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch; and the independent thriller "Blackout," directed by Rigoberto Castaneda.

She started her professional career at the age of 11 on "General Hospital," for which she received the Hollywood Reporter Young Star Award for Best Actress in a Daytime Series two years in a row. She is best known for two seasons as the title character in "Joan of Arcadia," the highly lauded CBS family drama that earned her a 2003 Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series and a 2004 Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Her additional film credits include Gore Verbinski's "The Ring," Takashi Shimizu's "The Grudge 2" and Wim Wenders' "10 Minutes Older."

Also an acclaimed writer, Tamblyn published her first poem at age 12 in the San Francisco Chronicle, an Editor's Choice for their "Young Female Poets To Watch" issue. At 14 and 17, she self-published two collections of poetry, art and photography, entitled Plenty of Ships and Of the Dawn. In 2006, she signed with Simon & Schuster to release her debut full-length book of poetry, Free Stallion, which won the 2006 Borders Book Choice Award for Breakout Writing. Her work has also been published in New York Quarterly Magazine, New York Magazine, L.A. Weekly, Writers and Poets, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Jane, Interview Magazine and, currently, Nylon Magazine.

She hosts a private writers' forum at rebelasylum.com, for more than 200,000 teens and young adults looking to publish or workshop their writing with other writers and Tamblyn herself. She is also co-founder of The Best Contemporary American Poets Series, a bi-annual event showcasing some of the country's best performance artists. She will be publishing her second anthology of poetry and non-fiction stories in fall 2008.


BLAKE LIVELY (Bridget) currently stars in one of the lead roles on the hit CW series "Gossip Girl," a comedy drama about teens at an elite private school in New York City.

In 2007, Lively starred in the independent feature "Elvis & Annabelle," directed by Will Geiger and co-starring Max Minghella and Mary Steenburgen. Previously, she starred opposite Justin Long in Steve Pink's comedy "Accepted" and in the 2005 hit "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," which earned her a Teen Choice Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance.

Among Lively's upcoming projects is the romantic drama "New York, I Love You," set for a 2009 release, and the drama "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee," currently in production, in which she stars with Keanu Reeves, Robin Wright Penn, Julianne Moore and Alan Arkin for writer/director Rebecca Miller.


ALEXIS BLEDEL (Lena) made her television debut in the critically acclaimed series "Gilmore Girls." For seven successful seasons, she starred as Rory Gilmore, the teenage daughter in this dramedy about a close-knit relationship between a single mother and a savvy daughter. Her portrayal earned Bledel the 2005 and 2006 Teen Choice Award for Actress in a Comedy and the 2002 Family Friendly Forum Award for Best Actress in a Drama. Named by the Television Critics Association as 2001's Outstanding New Program, "Gilmore Girls" also starred Lauren Graham, Kelly Bishop, and Ed Herrmann.

She will next be seen starring in the feature comedy "The Post-Grad Survival Guide," set for a 2009 release.

Bledel made her feature film debut in 2002 in "Tuck Everlasting," based on the acclaimed novel by Natalie Babbitt, in which she starred as Winnie Foster, a free-spirited teen trapped in a repressed Victorian household who meets up with the mysterious Tuck Family. "Tuck Everlasting" also starred Ben Kingsley, William Hurt, Sissy Spacek and Jonathan Jackson. Bledel was also part of the ensemble cast of the Robert Rodriguez action thriller "Sin City," with Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson and Brittany Murphy.

Her additional film credits include "Bride and Prejudice," an Indian musical version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, for "Bend it Like Beckham" director Gurinder Chadha; and the independent films "Orphan King," with Bill Pullman and Andrew McCarthy, and "I'm Reed Fish," opposite Jay Baruchel.

Bledel began her acting career in community theater in her hometown of Houston, Texas. She also modeled in New York during her school breaks. Before winning the role of Rory Gilmore, she attended NYU Film School to study writing and directing.


AMERICA FERRERA (Carmen) received critical acclaim and widespread recognition with her starring role in the Patricia Cardoso film "Real Women Have Curves." Her performance earned a Sundance Jury Award for Best Actress, an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance and a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance for a Leading Young Actress.

She went on to star in the 2005 hit film "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," for which she was nominated for an ALMA Award. She also appeared in Catherine Hardwicke's "Lords of Dogtown" and the 2005 Sundance Film Festival entry "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer," written and directed by Georgina Riedel and co-starring Elizabeth Pena. In recognition of her work, she received a 2005 Movieline Breakthrough Award.

Currently, Ferrera stars as the title character in ABC's hit series "Ugly Betty," based on the enormously successful Colombian series "Yo Soy Betty, La Fea" and executive produced by Salma Hayek. Her portrayal of Betty has earned Ferrera numerous honors, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and an additional Golden Globe nomination, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an ALMA Award. She is a current Emmy nominee for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Among Ferrera's credits are a starring role in the feature drama "Steel City," which premiered in dramatic competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. On stage, she starred off-Broadway in "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead," directed by Trip Cullman.

In 2007, she starred in a Spanish-speaking role as a woman who has a complicated relationship with a young kidnapping victim in the bilingual independent film "Towards Darkness," which she also executive produced. Directed by Antonio Negret, the film is based on his short film "Darkness Minus 12," in which Ferrera also starred. Later that year she starred in the independent film "La Misma Luna" ("Under the Same Moon"), which screened at the Austin Film Festival, Toronto Film Festival and the Internacional de Cine Expresion en Corto Festival in Mexico, and went on to gross more than $20 million worldwide box office. Directed by Patricia Riggen, it chronicles a 9 year-old Mexican boy's journey to the United States to find his migrant mother after the grandmother who is taking care of him passes away. The film also stars Mexican actors Kate DelCastillo and Eugenio Derbez.

Among Ferrera's upcoming projects are the animated features "How to Train Your Dragon," for which she lends her vocal talent along with Gerard Butler, and "Tinker Bell," due on October 28th, in which she joins a voice cast which includes Lucy Liu, Kristin Chenoweth and Jesse McCartney.


RACHEL NICHOLS (Julia) most recently wrapped production on the highly anticipated feature "Star Trek," directed by J.J. Abrams, and the action adventure "G.I. Joe," alongside Channing Tatum and Sienna Miller. Both are scheduled for release in 2009.

In 2007 Nichols starred as the lead in the thriller "P2," also starring Wes Bentley, for director Franck Khalfoun and producer Alexandre Aja. She also appeared in the sports drama "Resurrecting the Champ," with Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Hartnett, and in "Charlie Wilson's War," with Tom Hanks, directed by Mike Nichols.

In 2005 and 2006 Nichols starred as Rachel Gibson in the final season of the ABC hit drama "Alias." In 2005, she starred in the Fox drama "The Inside" and, that same year, starred in the remake of the classic thriller "The Amityville Horror," produced by Michael Bay, in which she portrayed the unforgettable role of the family babysitter. This film also starred Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George.

A small-town New England native, Nichols first caught the attention of a modeling scout while attending Columbia University, from which she graduated with a double major in math and economics. After campaigns with such brands as Guess, L'Oreal, Abercrombie & Fitch and Nicole Miller, she broke into the world of acting when her agent sent her out on her first-ever audition--for a "Sex and the City" episode called "The Vogue Idea," in which she guest-starred as the restaurant hostess who becomes a birthday present from Samantha to her boyfriend, Richard. She followed that with a role in "Autumn in New York," with Richard Gere. In 2003, she starred in "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd," the prequel to "Dumb and Dumber." Nichols has also guest-starred on the ABC series "In the Line of Fire."


RACHEL TICOTIN (Carmen's Mom) began her career in New York City as one the founding members of the Ballet Hispanico of NY dance company. She then segued into acting with a starring role in "Fort Apache The Bronx."

Among Ticotin's more recent film work are roles in "Something's Gotta Give," "Man on Fire" and the upcoming drama "The Burning Plain," set for a 2009 release.

She also performs on stage, most recently in the acclaimed Chichester Festival Theater production of "Macbeth" on Broadway, starring alongside Patrick Stewart.


SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO (Professor Nasrin Mehani) earned an Academy Award nomination and won an Independent Spirit Award for her role, opposite Ben Kingsley, in the 2003 drama "House of Sand and Fog." Her poignant performance as the supportive and sympathetic wife of a proud Iranian immigrant in that film also brought her Best Supporting Actress honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle and the Online Film Critics Society.

More recently, she starred in the box office hits "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and "X-Men: The Last Stand," as well as the romantic drama "The Lake House" and "The Nativity Story."

On the small screen, Aghdashloo received acclaim for her role as Dina Araz in season four of the award-winning series "24." In 2006, she starred alongside Ray Liotta in the John Wells series "Smith." She has also guest starred on such series as "Grey's Anatomy," "ER" and "Will & Grace." She will next be seen in the BBC Worldwide dramatic miniseries "Between Two Rivers," and will soon begin filming the feature "The Rhythm of Chaos" for director Sarah Knight.

A noted film and theatre actress in her native Iran, Aghdashloo began her career on the stage with the Drama Workshop of Tehran at age 19. She debuted on screen a few years later in the 1977 feature "Gozaresh" ("The Report"), for renowned director Abbass Kiarostami, which won the Critics Award at the Moscow Film Festival. She followed this triumph with a role in "Shatranje Bad" ("Chess with the Wind"), also a film festival favorite. While her initial projects were banned in her home country, she scored a huge success with "Sooteh-Delan" ("Broken Hearts"), directed by the late Iranian filmmaker Ali Hatami, which established her as one of Iran's leading actresses.

Just as her career began to crest, the Shah of Iran's regime crumbled, forcing the Tehran-born actress to flee her home country during the 1978 revolution. Aghdashloo settled in England, where she completed her education in International Relations at the International University Europe in Waterford while putting her acting career on hold.

She resumed her career onstage in 1984 in a Farsi-language play that was also staged in several U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, and married playwright Houshang Touzie. Aghdashloo has since performed in several of Touzie's works while forming Drama Workshop '79, a theatre company created in memory of the revolution and dedicated to producing plays in her native language.

Aghdashloo has appeared in several independent films, including "Guests of Hotel Astoria," "Twenty Bucks," "Surviving Paradise," "Maryam," "America So Beautiful," "Possessed" and "Pulse" (the latter two from filmmaker Shirin Neshat's trilogy).


BLYTHE DANNER (Greta) is a prolific, Emmy Award-winning actress who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles.

Danner first appeared on stage with the Theater Company of Boston and the Trintity Square Repertory Company (now Trinity Repertory Company) in Providence. She gained national attention at age 25 by winning the Theatre World Award for her performance in the Lincoln Center Rep's production of "The Miser," and went on to win a Tony Award in 1970 for her Broadway debut in "Butterflies Are Free."

Danner received three additional Tony nominations: in 1980 for the original Broadway production of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal"; in 1988 for a revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "A Streetcar Named Desire"; and in 2001 for a revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies." For more than 25 years, she has been a regular performer at the Williamstown Summer Theater Festival, where she also serves on the Board of Directors.

Her earliest starring film roles were opposite Alan Alda in "To Kill a Clown" and in the title role of "Lovin' Molly," directed by Sidney Lumet. She has appeared in two films based on novels by Pat Conroy, "The Great Santini" and "The Prince of Tides," as well as two television movies adapted from books by Anne Tyler, "Saint Maybe" and "Back When We Were Grownups." For director Woody Allen, she has appeared in "Another Woman," "Alice" and "Husbands and Wives."

More recently, Danner starred with Robert De Niro in the hit comedy "Meet the Parents" and its sequel, "Meet the Fockers," with Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman; the romantic comedy "The Last Kiss," for director Tony Goldwyn; and the biographical drama "Sylvia," about poet Sylvia Plath, in which she shared the screen with daughter Gwyneth Paltrow. Danner also lent her vocal talents to the animated adventure "Howl's Moving Castle."

In 2005 she was nominated for three Emmy Awards, for her work on "Will & Grace," Showtime's acclaimed series, "Huff" and "Back When We Were Grownups," winning the Emmy for her role as Izzy in "Huff."

Among her upcoming projects is the FX Networks' original drama "Pretty/Handsome," with Joseph Fiennes and Carrie-Ann Moss.

Danner sits on several environmental advisory boards and holds honorary Doctorates of Arts from her alma mater Bard College, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges.


LEONARDO NAM's (Brian McBrian) breakout role was in the 2004 Brian Robbins comedy "The Perfect Score," starring Scarlett Johansson and Erika Christensen. In 2005, he went on to star in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," directed by Ken Kwapis, and the festival hit "Little Athens," with Shawn Hatosy and HYPERLINK "http://imdb.com/name/nm0671567/" Michael Pena.

Nam most recently appeared in the thriller "Vantage Point," directed by Pete Travis, starring Forest Whitaker and Matthew Fox. In August he will star alongside Harrison Ford, Sean Penn and Ashley Judd in the feature "Crossing Over" for writer/director Wayne Kramer, about immigrants struggling to achieve legal status in Los Angeles; and, early in 2009, is part of an ensemble cast including Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore and Ben Affleck in the romantic comedy "He's Just Not That Into You," based on the popular book, which reunites him with director Ken Kwapis.

Nam's upcoming projects include the comedy "The Two Bobs," for writer/director Tim McCanlies, in which he will star as the art director of a gaming company in pursuit of stolen software, set for a 2009 release.

Among his film credits are roles in "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," for director Justin Lin in 2006; the comedy "10 Items or Less," directed by Brad Silberling, with Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega; the short film "Room 10," opposite Robin Wright Penn for director Jennifer Aniston; "American Pastime," directed by Desmond Nakano, about Japanese internment camps in the US during World War II; and "Finishing the Game," which reunited Nam with director Justin Lin.

Born in Argentina and raised in Sydney, Australia, Nam began his career studying in Sydney's prestigious Actor's Lab under Annie Swann while appearing in numerous local theatrical productions, including "Shakespeare in the Park." In New York, he trained with the legendary Uta Hagen, Austin Pendleton and Billy Carden and was a member of Sigourney Weaver and Jim Simpson's The Bat Theatre Company. His work in New York included the New York Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park Shakespeare Lab Company.

His most recent stage appearance was the opening night performance of "365 Days/365 Plays," by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, who committed to writing a play per day for 365 days. The National Festival's Los Angeles performance was produced by The Center Theatre Group and directed by Bart DeLorenzo. It was the largest collaboration in the history of American theater.


MICHAEL RADY (Kostos) made his feature film debut in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," for which he earned a Teen Choice Award nomination for Best Male Breakout Performance.

Since then, Rady has appeared opposite Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner in the Andrew Davis action adventure "The Guardian" and on Showtime's "Sleeper Cell," as well as episodes of "CSI: NY" and "ER." He has a major recurring role in the CBS series "Swingtown."

He will soon be seen starring in the feature drama "In Search Of."

Rady is a graduate of Temple University.


TOM WISDOM (Ian) most recently appeared on screen as Astinos in the drama "300," starring Gerard Butler. He also starred as Adrian in the Sci Fi Channel's telefilm "Fire & Ice."

Wisdom trained at the Academy Drama School in London.

In the theatre, he appeared in the world premiere of Sharman MacDonald's "Borders of Paradise" at the Palace Theatre Watford and played Algernon in "The Importance of Being Earnest" at the Open Air Theatre Wimbledon. At the Arts Theatre, London he played the leading role of Stephen Carter in the much-acclaimed production of "What's Wrong With Angry?" and then starred as Bennett in the revival of "Another Country." Most recently he starred in the leading role of Stanhope in "Journey's End" in London's West End and on a UK tour.

Wisdom's television credits include roles in "The Good King," for the Family Channel; "Black Hearts in Battersea," for the BBC; "Wycliffe," for HTV; the leading role of Edward in "Children of the New Forest," for the BBC; "The Castle," for ABC; "Wavelength," for Richmond Films; and the series regular role of Tom Ferguson in "Coronation Street." He also played the lead role of Matthew in the TV film "Escape to Somerset," for ITV; Ivor Claire in "Sword of Honour," for Talkback/C4; Stephen Clarke in the ITV two-parter "Suspicion"; and series lead Marco in "Mile High," for Sky TV.

Wisdom's next big-screen project is the Richard Curtis comedy "The Boat That Rocked," currently in production and set for a 2009 release.


JESSE WILLIAMS (Leo) makes his big-screen debut in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2."

Williams starred in award-winning playwright Edward Albee's off-Broadway production "The American Dream and The Sandbox" from March through April of this year at the Cherry Lane Theatre.

He will soon begin production on the feature "Brooklyn's Finest," for director Antoine Fuqua, starring opposite Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere and Don Cheadle.

On television, Williams will next be seen in a guest-starring role on ABC Family's "Greek." His previous television credits include an appearance on "Law & Order."

Retrun to: "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2"